Adelaide's Fate (Her Fate Series Book 1) Read online

  Adelaide’s Fate

  Her Fate Series

  G. Bailey

  Contents

  Description

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Also by G. Bailey

  Links

  Excerpt from Runes of Truth-

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  Excerpt of Wings of Ice-

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  Adelaide’s Fate Copyright © 2018 by G. Bailey

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  The author acknowledges the trademark owners of various products, brands, and/or stores referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cover by Covers by Christian.

  Created with Vellum

  For all those who love stormy nights.

  How far can fate make you fall?

  When Adelaide turned twenty, losing her parents and gaining custody of her fifteen-year-old sister were not part of her plan. If being a shifter in a world where her kind is hunted wasn't bad enough, she now has to protect her sister too. Adie has no choice but to move into the old house her parents left them, or risk being on the streets in a dangerous world. Only she didn't expect to be living next door to a strange, and very attractive, group of men who are far more than human. They offer her protection in exchange for keeping their reason for hiding from the humans a secret and helping them. But protection comes at a cost, and the cost is something none of them could have expected.

  A cost that’s been destined. A cost that fate has weaved for Adelaide. A cost that even princes cannot escape.

  (Her Guardians series spin-off)

  Reverse Harem

  17 +

  "Run faster," the breathless voice of my mate’s best friend shouts to me as I rush through the cold woods in Scotland where we planned to escape to. At least our information on the portal was right. The freezing wind hits my face as snow brushes against my bare legs, making me want to fall into the snow and give up. I fight the cold, unforgiving snow for as long as I can. Keeping the image of my mate in my mind. He would never give up.

  "I can't," I say, collapsing to the ground as pain rips through my stomach. I look down as blood coats the snow-covered floor by my stomach. I can’t do this anymore, it’s too late, and I can feel the poison spreading through my body from the dagger.

  "Reni," I whisper my companion’s name as she slides to her knees in front of me, my gaze goes to my newborn daughter that she holds in blankets close to her chest. Two hours, that’s all I had with her before they attacked us. It’s not enough.

  "I will stay and fight to protect you, for him," Reni says sharply, handing me my daughter, and I push her away gently, my heart breaking as she cries.

  "No, go. It's too late, and I can't outrun them. I can distract them enough by closing the last portal," I say quietly as Reni’s eyes widen in shock. If I close that portal, then there is no way for her and her army to follow us.

  "Using any power now will kill you. My alpha died to keep you alive. You can't do this to me," she begs me, keeping her voice in a whisper for the baby. I look around the snow-covered forest, remembering the Autumn court and the brief happiness I felt there when I married the man I loved and had my beautiful daughter. The Autumn court was always home and where I expected I would die one day. Now I’m going to die in Winter, on Earth, of all worlds. So very far from home.

  "Something is wrong, and neither of us are healers. Take my child and keep her safe. Please," I say reaching to hold a hand against my sleeping child wrapped in her arms. I twirl a finger around the dark red hair on her head, the same colour as mine and all the royal family before me. Her bright green eyes watch me, and she doesn’t make a sound. She is so innocent for the world she has been born into. Reni looks down at me and then to my little baby she holds in her arms.

  "I will do it for you. I will do it for my lost alpha and my queen. I will bring her up with my mate as our own. No one will know who she is," Reni says, finally giving in, and I know her well enough to know she means every word. She may not be Fray, but she is family to me.

  "Her name is Adelaide, after my mother," I tell Reni gently, who nods.

  “That name will give her identity away on Frayan,” Reni reminds me what I already know. It is a royal Frayan name. No common Fray could name their child it. It would be highly disrespectful. Not that it matters. Once she stepped into Fray, everything about her would give her identity away.

  "No one can know who she is. You must keep her away from anything Fray-touched. She must never get her Fray powers or wings," I tell her, knowing that there is no way she can be taken back to Frayan. When I close the portal, it will be impossible, but there are weapons here that have Fray magic, even some creatures that have passed through portals. They won’t have enough magic to reveal her powers, but over time…they would make them appear.

  "You have my word. I'm sorry I can't save you," she says with tears running down her face. Everything starts going blurry as she stands and offers me a hand to help me up. I stand shakily and look down once more at Adelaide before turning away, my heart breaking. I have to do this.

  "They are coming, go," I say, and she nods holding my daughter closer.

  "I'm sorry," she bows the best she can when holding a baby. My mind flashes back to the prophecy surrounding my child and the Fray courts that have fallen to keep her safe. She has to be safe. I watch until I can’t see Reni anymore before walking back off into the woods. When I see the portal, a slightly blue clear shimmer that only Fray can see, I lift my hands. It only takes a second for my lightening power to shoot purple bolts of lightning out my hands into the portal. My wings flutter behind me, lifting me slightly into the air as my power gets stronger. The portal cracks slowly, bit by bit until it explodes, and I go flying into the air. I close my eyes and think only of Adelaide, knowing she will be safe, as darkness takes me.

  ”Adie, why do we have to move? The old house was fine," my little sister says as she groans from her seat next to me in my small car. The car that somehow seems smaller every time she asks me the same question. Shitadoodle, what do I tell her? I look over at Sophie, who is sat with one ear plug in and doesn't take her eyes off her tablet as she waits for an answer I don't want to give her. I can't worry my fifteen-year-old sister with the facts about our money situation, and the fact we have absolutely none. The truth of the matter is that our parents liked to travel around all the time, and that wasn't good for keeping a long-term job. All the traveling meant that when they died two months ago, in a car crash, I had to sell our house to pay off our debts and then move my sister into the house left in the will. I look out at the snow and ice on the road, deciding I’m not going to like this small town. Well it’s not that bad, as Scotland isn’t too far away and remote. The new hou
se is only seven hours’ drive away from York, where I was at university. Deep breath, and answer her, Adelaide.

  "Adie," Sophie sighs louder than before, and I put my foot on the gas a little more and pray my piece of crap car will actually get us to the house. God knows I don’t have the money to pay for a pickup truck or any idea who to call. The old Peugeot is traveling way too far than I would have ever trusted it to, but I really can't afford to pay for a new car.

  "We are nearly there,” I finally say. That was a lame answer, and I know it.

  “Great,” she huffs, and I just catch her rolling her eyes at me from under her brown hair before she goes back to whatever game she is playing on her tablet.

  “I know this is a big change, but it will be good for us," I tell her as she finally looks at me for a second before huffing in response, again, and going back on her tablet. Sophie used to be a chatty twelve-year-old who loved sports. Or at least that’s what I remember her being like when I left for university, but now she is a shell of herself since our parents’ death. My heart drops as I remember that they are really gone, and I have a teenager to look after, with no job and hardly any money. I haven’t had time to grieve because I can’t melt down in front of Sophie. It's going to be difficult enough to find work that works around Sophie in a small town. A university dropout isn't a good person to hire. I had no choice but to leave when the accident happened; I couldn't move Sophie into my shared dorm at university with what the world is like now. They would kill her and me for one slip-up. The small village finally comes into view after over an hour of driving down an empty country lane. The village is near enough to a big town, so I can drive there to work in the day, and it apparently has a very good school that I've gotten Sophie into. She doesn’t start for a few weeks though, and considering we can hardly talk to each other, the idea of being stuck in an old house for weeks is not appealing.

  It takes me a few wrong turns down empty roads until I find a row of four houses. Our house is the last of the attached houses, and it has its own driveway that I pull up in. Sophie finally looks up from her iPad and frowns at the sight of the overgrown lawn and old paint falling off the outside of the old house. Home, sweet, home. The house looks close to falling apart, and it takes everything in me not to slam my head against the steering wheel at the sight. The estate agent said it was in good order, this isn’t what I thought it would be like. I wrench my door open, muttering "fuck" to myself as I slam it shut behind me and go up the two steps to the door. Thankfully the locks look new, kind of, and the door opens easily before I walk in.

  The smell of dust is the first thing that hits me as I look around at the hallway, which has cobwebs in every corner, and it is empty of any decorations. The space isn’t too bad I guess, and it is painted in a light brown which matches the wooden floors. There are three dark wooden doors, one at the end and one on each side of the hall. I open the first one to a small empty room which I'm guessing is a storage closet or study. The next room is a lounge with a large fireplace, two covered sofas, and a small coffee table. This room isn’t too bad. I go to the window and open the thick cream curtains, coughing from the dust and pushing the window open to let some air in here. I pull the white sheets off both sofas, and they are brown like the colour all the rooms have been painted in, by the looks of it so far.

  I leave the lounge and go to the door at the end of corridor, opening it up to find a kitchen. The kitchen is a similar brown to the walls, with dark wooden counters, and I thank god when I see there's a working fridge and cooker that just need plugging in. After a little moving things around, nearly dying from inhaling more dust, I manage to get them turned on. I open the window in the kitchen, letting some more much needed air in. I am going to be up all night cleaning this house from dust and cobwebs. When I come back to the door to get some boxes, Sophie is walking up the stairs, and shouts down from the top, just as I grab the handle.

  "The beds don't look bad. Bring me some of my stuff up, won’t you?" she shouts, and I groan internally while pulling the door open and shuffling my feet back to the car. When did she get so damn bossy? Can I even tell her off for it after we lost mum and dad? I’m no parent to her. Sophie and I have never been the closest of sisters. We argue more than get along, but now everything has changed, and I don’t know where I stand with her. I shake my head, knowing I can’t overthink this, and I need to just take one day at a time. I’m so lost in my thoughts, that I don’t look where I am going at all. The next thing I know, I trip over what I assume is a large rock in the middle of the driveway and brace myself for the hard fall I'm going to suffer. Somehow that doesn't happen; instead, I feel a warm chest against my back and strong big arms wrapped around my stomach as someone catches me. I turn my head to thank whoever it is, and my breath catches. The hottest guy I've ever seen is staring at me with sparking clear blue eyes. His dark brown hair is short on the sides with an overgrown fringe which has blond tips, and he has a five o'clock shadow. I have to blink a few times to find out if he is real, because men don’t look like this. No, only gods do, I imagine.

  "I don't usually have girls fall for me without knowing their name," he says, a casual smirk on his lips as I stare speechless at him. They don’t make men like this in Britain, or anywhere, so where the hell did he come from? I reluctantly pull out of his arms and move to stand in front of him. He is really tall, as I have to stretch my neck to look up to see his face. I'm not that short, but this guy must be well over six foot.

  "I'm Adie," I hold out a hand, and he slides his slightly cold hand into mine. The man gives me a slight, deep sexy chuckle as he turns my hand over in his before pulling it up to his lips for a gentle kiss. The moment his lips touch my skin, I feel a shock, that's the only way to explain it, and by his widened eyes, I know he feels it too. I pull my hand away quickly, and my body takes a step back before I even realise it. I don’t know what the hell that was, but my hand is still somewhat tingling from the contact.

  "It is nice to meet you, Adie. I'm Rick. My brother and I live there," he points to the house next door to mine, “with our two friends.” I internally sigh at the fact I have to live next to the hottie who no doubt knows his way around women, and I know I will be drooling over him for the considerable future. Not that a guy like this would be interested in me. I have hips, no boobs to be seen anywhere, and I'm a twenty-year-old virgin. I’m way out of my league with this guy. Not that it matters. The last thing I need right now is any distractions from looking after Sophie. Holy hotness, this means I have to live next to four guys who might all be as hot as this dude, and somehow keep focused. I can only hope they mow the lawn shirtless once in a while. That would be awesome to see.

  "Adie, where are you? If you are going to take this long, I’ll get my own stuff," Sophie’s unimpressed voice comes from the door, and I turn to see her just stop when she sees I'm talking to someone. Her eyes watch Rick carefully, and I have to clear my throat to get her attention and to stop her from doing something crazy like be territorial and growl at the human guy.

  "This is my sister, Sophie. Sophie, this is one of our new neighbours, Rick," I introduce them as Sophie walks over to us, stopping at my side. Rick holds a hand out to Sophie, who looks at the hand in disgust before ignoring him completely by going around us to the car.

  "I'm sorry about her," I say as my cheeks go red at Sophie's behaviour. I watch her open the boot and start pulling out boxes, putting them down as she looks for her bag.

  "No problem. I know what it is like to be an angry kid. Do you want some help with the boxes?" Rick asks me, and I glance up at him. He is smiling, no sign of him being angry or not understanding, and in fact, there is sympathy etched across his features.

  "If you’re not busy," I find myself replying, even though it is dangerous to make friends with any humans when we need to be invisible in this village. Though he hasn’t noticed how my teenage sister is lifting very heavy boxes out of the boot like they are pillows, so we might be okay. I can j
ust let him help with the boxes and then make an excuse so he has to leave. Nice and simple.

  "Nope. It’s my day off work, and I literally have nothing to do," he tells me with a big grin. I laugh as he goes to the car just as Sophie walks past with her large backpack, flashing Rick a glare which he thankfully ignores. Part of me wants to tell her off for being rude, but her eyes look watery, and so much has changed for her that I can’t help but feel sorry for her. This can’t be easy. I pat her shoulder as she goes by, and she nudges me away in clear anger. I swallow the hurt as I watch her run into the house before I go to grab a box. I get to the back of the car just as Rick picks up three boxes like they weigh nothing. The boxes have kitchen written on the side of them, so I know they are filled with heavy plates and kitchen things. I don’t say anything as I follow Rick in with my one box. I could have grabbed three or more like he did, but that might give away my secret, and my parents taught me better than that growing up. Learning to pretend how to be human is something built into my bones at this point. It’s Sophie I worry about. There were several times we had to run and leave everything because she forgot how deadly it is for humans to know what we are.

  "Wow, you must work out," I say as we put the boxes on the floor in the kitchen, and I carry one of them into the lounge.